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“Ajanta paintings are a treat for the eyes. You will have to see it to understand just how rich and vibrant our ancient culture was.” - Raja Reddy, Dancer

Set amidst lush greenery along the face of a mountain with a small stream cascading through the valley below, Ajanta is any visitor’s delight. A monastic retreat fr the monks, these structures embellished with some of the most lovely paintings and splendid sculptures took 800 years to be carved out.

About 800 monks worked relentlessly on the hillside hanging over the tiny stream, chiselling and drawing int the heart of the rock, digging deep into the hillside, some going 100 ft. deep. It is believed that the caves were strategically located along the trade routes so that monks could travel safely with traders to far flung areas to spread their faith.

For many years the caves functioned as a perfect retreat for the monks but around the 8th century AD they were abandoned for the nearby Ellora caves. The reason for the shift is shrouded in mystery but once past its days of glory, Ajanta slipped into oblivion.

The caves lay hidden for over a 1000 years under dense forest overgrowth before being discovered by sheer chance by a hunting team. The caves are in a wooded and rugged horse-shoe shaped ravine about 35 km from the village of Ajintha about 100 kms from city of Aurangabad(India). These caves date from the 2nd century BC to 8th century AD.

There are 29 caves at Ajanta, two chaityas or prayer halls and three viharas- a place for the monks to rest, study and meditate. The walls and ceilings on the inside are adorned with sculptures and murals depicting stories from the life of the Buddha and the more popular tales from the lives of Buddha’s previous incarnations.

The paintings on the walls are of the highest craftsmanship and depict a mastery of forms, positions and gestures that had never been seen before in ancient India. Some paintings also contain scenes from the royal court and popular life of ancient times.

Since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have become a UNESCO world heritage site. And like many say, its hard for anyone who has not been to Ajanta to imagine the charm of the caves. See it to believe it.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 6:01 am and is filed under Indian Art & Culture, Wonders of India. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.